John Norquist
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John Olof Norquist (born October 22,1949) is an American politician and 37th mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He served as mayor from 1988 until he resigned in 2003.
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Personal background
Norquist was born in Princeton, New Jersey, where his father, Rev. Ernest O. Norquist was attending seminary. His mother is Jeanne Norquist.
He is married to Susan Mudd and has one son, Ben.
Early political career
He was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1975, where he served until seeking and winning a seat in the Wisconsin State Senate in 1983.
Mayor of Milwaukee
In 1988, Norquist compaigned and won the job of Mayor of Milwaukee. His tenure as mayor of Milwaukee came on the heels of the 28-year reign by Henry Maier.
Norquist can perhaps best be described as a "fiscally-conservative socialist." [1] (http://governing.com/poy/1998/ptnorq.htm). He was strongly in favor of light-rail as a solution for the city's transit problems, although his dream never came close to fruition. He consistently reduced the property tax rate every year since becoming mayor and kept city budgets from growing beyond the rate of inflation.
In December of 2000, Norquist's future as mayor was thrown into doubt as a staff assistant, Marilyn Figueroa, alleged that the mayor had sexually harassed her. Norquist admitted to a five year consensual affair, but the case refused to go away. Eventually, in April of 2002, Norquist announced that he would not seek a fifth term as mayor in 2004.
When he was presented in June 2003 with the opportunity to lead the Congress for the New Urbanism, Norquist announced that he would resign at the end of the year rather than serving his full term which expired in April 2004. The timing was designed to prevent a special election for the post. Instead, the head of the common council, Marvin Pratt, served as acting mayor.
His term was marked by public conflicts with other city leaders, including Bo Black, former head of Summerfest; Arthur Jones, his one-time bodyguard who became chief of police; and Bradley DeBraska, head of the police union.
Post mayoral career
At the beginning of 2004, Norquist began working full time as the head of the Congress for the New Urbanism, a urban development organization based in Chicago, Illinois.
Works
Norquist, John O. The Wealth of Cities (1998). ISBN 0738201340
External links
- Biographical sketch from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (http://www3.jsonline.com/news/metro/jan01/norq14011301a.asp)
- Biography in Governing magazine (http://governing.com/poy/1998/ptnorq.htm)
- Retrospective on Norquist's term as mayor from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/jan02/16040.asp)